Recaps

Bajie entered Mao Gu’s trial in Yellowstone Town, where he had five days to find a person with an affinity for immortality without using magic or his weapon. The trial left him stranded in the identity of Zhu Liang, a lazy husband whose furious wife sent him to buy salt.

• Mao Gu told Bajie that he had three five-day rounds to bring the person beneath the locust tree and warned him that using supernatural abilities would forfeit the trial.
• Bajie handed Mao Gu the Nine-Toothed Rake and learned that the town would reset after each round and that appearances might be deceptive.
• A peddler called Bajie Zhu Liang and said his wife was looking for him.
• A woman seized Bajie by the ear, scolded him for neglecting their home and shop, and ordered him to buy salt.
• Bajie ran off, then turned back to ask his wife which way the salt shop was.

Bajie learned that he had become Zhu Liang, a lazy live-in son-in-law married to Li Xiaolian, and tried to understand his new life in town. After bringing salt back to Xiaolian, he ate outside the family inn and greeted passersby, while her anger gave way to a softened expression.

• Bajie pieced together from the townspeople that he was Zhu Liang, a notorious good-for-nothing married into the Li Family.
• At Chen's Oil and Salt Shop, Old Chen gave Bajie the salt on Xiaolian's tab and urged him to work harder and care for his wife.
• Bajie asked Old Chen whether anyone unusual lived in town, but the shopkeeper joked that Bajie himself was the strangest person there.
• Bajie returned to the Pagoda Tree Peace Inn, where Li Xiaolian accepted the salt through a waiter and prepared him a meal.
• Bajie chose flatbreads and noodle soup, then ate by the entrance while greeting passersby, and Xiaolian watched him with a softened gaze.

Bajie tried to discover which townspeople had an affinity with immortality while changing his lazy ways and helping Li Xiaolian run the shop. After several days of growing closer, he asked Li Xiaolian whether she wanted to become an immortal, and she answered by asking if he liked the noodles.

• Bajie watched the townspeople and wondered which of them had an affinity with immortality.
• Bajie began washing dishes and doing chores, surprising Li Xiaolian and the shop workers.
• Bajie bought a replacement water jar, collected Old Liu's debt, repaired a window, and served customers as the shop grew busy.
• Li Xiaolian gave Bajie the account book, but he admitted he could not understand it, prompting her to ask who he really was.
• On a rainy day, Li Xiaolian brought Bajie a bowl of meatless noodles, and Bajie asked if she wanted to become an immortal.

Bajie questioned the appeal of immortality while living as Zhu Liang in Yellowstone Town, then learned that his peaceful domestic life had been an illusion. He returned to the town’s ordinary routine and ended the chapter asking Li Xiaolian for food.

• Li Xiaolian told Bajie that a solid mortal life was better than dreaming about becoming an immortal, and he reflected on his identity as Zhu Liang.
• At sunset on the fifth day, Bajie presented a big yellow dog to Mao Gu as the town’s strongest candidate for immortality, but Mao Gu said he was wrong.
• Yellowstone Town shattered like a reflection, and Bajie awoke beneath the pagoda tree as a peddler reminded him that Li Xiaolian was looking for him.
• Li Xiaolian caught Bajie by the ear and ordered him to buy salt, and he hurried to Chen's Oil and Salt Shop.
• Old Chen criticized Zhu Liang for lacking ambition, but Bajie promised to treat Li Xiaolian well.
• Bajie returned to Pagoda Tree Peace Inn, gave Li Xiaolian the salt, and told her he was hungry.

Bajie repaired the broken bridge outside Yellowstone Town with help from the townspeople, while Li Xiaolian quietly supported the work. On the fifth day, he again guessed that the big yellow dog was the one he was looking for, and Mao Gu declared him wrong before the town shattered like a reflection in water.

• Bajie helped around the inn, repaired a broken stool and a faulty window, and told Li Xiaolian he would replace the cracked water jar.
• Bajie went to the river to repair the collapsed bridge, hauling out the old timber and cutting pine for a replacement.
• Over the next days, townspeople joined Bajie’s work, while Li Xiaolian brought meals for the helpers and a meatless bowl of noodles for Bajie.
• The townspeople tested the finished bridge, then left Bajie and the big yellow dog standing on it as Li Xiaolian watched from below.
• Mao Gu asked Bajie to identify the one he was looking for, and Bajie pointed to the big yellow dog; Mao Gu said he was wrong and offered him one last attempt.
• Bajie said he would continue the contest and told Mao Gu not to destroy the bridge, whereupon Yellowstone Town shattered like a reflection in water.

Bajie sat beneath a pagoda tree for days, counting ants and refusing food while the town judged him. Li Xiaolian’s quiet care finally moved him to eat, and he ended by asking Mao Gu whether his heart was too small to hold more than a handful of people.

• Bajie spent days beneath the pagoda tree counting ants, ignoring the townspeople and refusing food and water.
• Old Chen scolded Bajie and urged him to return home to Xiaolian, but Bajie kept counting.
• Li Xiaolian brought Bajie a bowl of noodles and asked him not to go hungry.
• Bajie finished counting 1,426 ants, ate the noodles, and stood to look toward the lit Pagoda Tree Peace Inn.
• Mao Gu appeared beside Bajie, who asked whether his heart was too small and said it could hold only a handful of people.

Bajie faced the trial of his immortal destiny by realizing Yellowstone Town and its people were all manifestations of his own heart, and chose to carry his attachments while continuing along the path among mortals. Xuanzang declared him the winner, giving the pilgrimage party the advantage before the final round.

• Bajie brought Yellowstone Town to life and explained that its people, including Big Yellow, were all him and that he wanted to live peacefully.
• Bajie told Mao Gu he would keep carrying his love and attachments, and Mao Gu acknowledged that Bajie had won the round.
• Bajie awoke on the arena platform as Wukong, Sha Wujing, and Little White Dragon congratulated him.
• Xuanzang declared Wuneng the winner, and Mao Gu explained that Yellowstone Town and its people were manifestations of Bajie's heart.
• Taibai Jinxing announced that the pilgrimage party held the advantage after the first two rounds and began the final round.

Sha Wujing was chosen to face Mao Zhong in the Life-Saving Match, while his fellow disciples encouraged him and warned him to stay within his limits. Mao Zhong revealed a painting of a city enclosed by mountains and declared that their contest would be about saving people.

• Bajie returned from his match boasting, then embarrassed himself by mistakenly calling Little White Dragon surnamed Bai.
• Taibai Jinxing announced that Sha Wujing would face Mao Zhong in the third match, called the Life-Saving Match.
• Little White Dragon warned Sha Wujing that the contest seemed designed for him and told him to concede if necessary, while Wukong encouraged him.
• Sha Wujing accepted Xuanzang's advice to do his best and stepped onto the arena to meet Mao Zhong.
• Mao Zhong painted a vast mountain basin containing a prosperous city and announced that the match would test their ability to save people.

Mao Zhong challenged Sha Wujing to save all 13,000 residents of Tiehua City before the surrounding mountains collapsed and seawater flooded the basin in three days. Sha Wujing entered the contest and warned the townspeople, but no one believed him.

• Mao Zhong explained that Sha Wujing would win only by saving every resident of Tiehua City from the coming flood.
• Bajie protested that the contest was unfair, but Sha Wujing accepted and Mao Zhong sent him into the city through the scroll.
• Sha Wujing arrived in Tiehua City and saw its crowded market, oppressive weather, and iron-black mountains.
• Sha Wujing warned Butcher Zhao and nearby residents that the mountains would collapse and the flood would drown the city, but they dismissed him and offered him food and drink.
• For four hours, Sha Wujing warned people throughout the city, but no one believed him and they thought he was having a fit of hysteria.

Sha Wujing tried to persuade Tiehua City's lord to evacuate the city before the Divine Mountain collapsed and a flood arrived, but the lord rejected his warning. The lord ordered Sha Wujing to stay in the city and stop alarming its people.

• Officers escorted Sha Wujing to the city lord after people reported his warnings about the coming flood.
• Sha Wujing urged the city lord to order Tiehua City's thirteen thousand residents to climb the mountain and escape.
• The city lord argued that the residents could not reach the summit in time, survive there, or escape if the mountain collapsed.
• The city lord invoked Tiehua City's sacred ban on climbing the Divine Mountain and told Sha Wujing to stay in quiet lodgings without stirring up trouble.

Sha Wujing resolved to save Iron Transformation City despite the city lord and residents refusing to heed his warnings. The city lord then entrusted him with finding a legendary Divine Vessel atop Great Black Mountain, the only plan that might persuade the city to evacuate.

• After realizing that neither the city lord nor the people would believe his warnings, Sha Wujing vowed to prove himself through his actions and save them.
• Sha Wujing concluded that escaping by boat was the only route out of the flood, but he could not figure out how to build one large enough for the city.
• An elderly couple gave Sha Wujing hot rice porridge, which he gratefully accepted before continuing on his way.
• The Constable delivered a letter in which Tie Jing said he would trust Sha Wujing once and had begun secretly gathering provisions.
• Tie Jing revealed that Iron Transformation City's legends told of a Divine Vessel atop Great Black Mountain and said that finding it would let him order the entire city to board.

Sha Wujing fought his way up Great Black Mountain to find the Divine Vessel and save Iron Transformation City. He reached the summit as City Lord Tie Jing sat in silence in the city lord's residence.

• Sha Wujing promised the constable he would find the Divine Vessel, then flew toward Great Black Mountain.
• A rune restriction struck Sha Wujing from the sky, so he began climbing the mountain instead.
• Sha Wujing climbed through the death-gray mist while scarlet snakes and iron hounds attacked and clung to him.
• Sha Wujing fought off the monsters and continued upward until he reached the mountain summit.
• City Lord Tie Jing sat silently behind his desk in the city lord's residence.

Sha Wujing found a giant elephant trapped in a black bog atop Black Iron Mountain Peak, where the divine ship was nowhere to be seen. After learning the elephant was also doomed when the mountain collapsed, he began lifting it, determined to save it and the thirteen thousand people of Ironification City.

• Sha Wujing recovered from his injuries and found himself on a mountaintop covered by a black bog, with a mountain-sized elephant trapped in it.
• Sha Wujing told the elephant that Black Mountain would collapse in two days and that he needed the divine ship to save Ironification City’s thirteen thousand residents.
• The elephant warned Sha Wujing that there was no ship or anyone to save and ordered him to leave the forbidden ground.
• Sha Wujing pointed out that the elephant was trapped too, then rode his Demon-Subduing Treasure Staff beneath its body and vowed to save it.
• Sha Wujing enlarged his body and heaved upward, raising the elephant little by little despite his wounds.

Sha Wujing freed the White Jade Divine Elephant from the mire, breaking the restrictions on the black mountains. The light reached Iron Transformation City, revealing its thirteen thousand inhabitants as evil ghosts, newly released from their endless torment.

• Sha Wujing used his staff to pull the enormous elephant from the mire, and its black crust peeled away to reveal the White Jade Divine Elephant.
• The White Jade Divine Elephant spoke, and the runes and restrictions on the black mountains shattered.
• Tie Jing felt the tremor in Iron Transformation City and saw black-red light enter the city as the restrictions broke.
• Tie Jing began dissolving into black vapor and roared as Butcher Zhao and an older woman transformed into fiends.
• The inhabitants of Iron Transformation City transformed into thirteen thousand evil ghosts, ending the cycle of torment that had bound them.

Sha Wujing discovered that the people he had rescued in Iron Transformation City were evil ghosts, and that he had helped release them into the mortal world. He fought to block the widening rift as the ghosts swarmed him, while Young Master Mao declared that Sha Wujing had lost the round.

• Evil ghosts across Iron Transformation City rejoiced as the rift above Great Black Mountain opened and surged toward it.
• Sha Wujing plunged from the mountain to protect the city, but found Tie Jing transformed into a ghost and realized the city's people had all been evil spirits.
• Sha Wujing saw a child in the mortal world beyond the rift and understood that he had released the ghosts from their prison.
• Sha Wujing smashed ghosts trying to cross the rift, refusing to retreat despite his dwindling magical power and mounting injuries.
• Young Master Mao told Sha Wujing that his compassion was blind and declared that he had lost the round.

Wukong and Bajie challenged Young Master Mao over the cruel Life-Saving Match, but Xuanzang insisted Sha Wujing had not lost and must continue on his own path. Young Master Mao accepted the outcome remained undecided, as silver light entered the painting and Tie Jing prepared to attack Sha Wujing from behind.

• Wukong and Bajie condemned Young Master Mao for manipulating Sha Wujing and prepared to fight him.
• Young Master Mao argued that compassion without discernment could unleash greater evil, explaining that the match reflected a mistake he had once made.
• Xuanzang stopped Wukong and Bajie, declaring that Sha Wujing had not lost because he still stood by his choice to save people.
• Young Master Mao conceded that he had reached his conclusion too soon and agreed the match remained undecided.
• A streak of silver light plunged into the painting as Sha Wujing continued holding back the ghosts despite his injuries.
• Tie Jing formed a bone nail and aimed it at Sha Wujing's back, just behind his heart.

Little White Dragon saved Sha Wujing from Tie Jing and agreed to help him hold back the evil ghosts for two days. The White Jade Divine Elephant admitted it had released the ghosts, then charged into Great Black Mountain and brought it down.

• Little White Dragon shattered Tie Jing’s Bone Spike, killed his manifested body, and rescued Sha Wujing from the surrounding ghosts.
• Sha Wujing told Little White Dragon that they had to hold the ghosts back until Great Black Mountain collapsed, and Little White Dragon agreed to follow his plan.
• Tie Jing returned and taunted Sha Wujing with the voices of the people he had once tried to save while Little White Dragon fought off the ghosts.
• The White Jade Divine Elephant arrived, healed Sha Wujing, and confessed that it had released the evil ghosts after longing to escape its age-old vigil.
• The White Jade Divine Elephant charged through the ghost tide and rammed Great Black Mountain, causing the mountain to explode and collapse.

As the Black Sea dragged the evil ghosts beneath Great Black Mountain, Sha Wujing resolved to enter it and save them, using his body as a raft. Little White Dragon followed him into the sea and unleashed his freezing power.

• The Black Sea swept the escaped evil ghosts back into its depths, and Little White Dragon stopped Sha Wujing from reaching for the disguised elderly couple.
• Tie Jing accused Sha Wujing of causing the ghosts’ endless imprisonment, and their cries made Sha Wujing bleed as he struggled with whom he had saved.
• Sha Wujing asked Little White Dragon to freeze the Black Sea for ten breaths and said he would enter the water first.
• Remembering Xuanzang’s parable of the raft, Sha Wujing leaped into the Black Sea, declaring that his body would carry the ghosts to the far shore.
• Little White Dragon transformed into a white dragon, plunged after Sha Wujing, and spread frost across the sea.

Sha Wujing opened his body to draw thirteen thousand evil ghosts inside, intending to carry them out of the Black Sea while Little White Dragon held back the water. The White Jade Divine Elephant reached him, but the ghosts and its power collided within him, leaving Sha Wujing suspended between two opposing forces.

• Little White Dragon froze the Black Sea and called to Sha Wujing that he could hold it for only ten breaths.
• Sha Wujing tore open his chest and invited the evil ghosts to enter his body, promising to take them to the other shore.
• Tie Jing and the other ghosts flooded into Sha Wujing, tormenting him and then realizing he meant to imprison them inside himself.
• Little White Dragon struggled to hold the ice as black frost spread over his scales and the Black Sea began to churn again.
• Sha Wujing welcomed the White Jade Divine Elephant into his palm as the tenth breath arrived and Little White Dragon was blasted away.
• White Jade Mountain and Great Black Mountain formed on opposite sides of Sha Wujing as their auras clashed, and his eyes opened—one black and one white.

Sha Wujing absorbed the evil ghosts of the Black Sea into his body and emerged with the White Jade Divine Elephant, determined to carry the ghosts until they repaid their debts. He reunited with the badly wounded Little White Dragon, and they prepared to return to their waiting companions.

• Little White Dragon was injured by the Black Sea’s black frost, then watched the sea collapse toward the place where Sha Wujing had entered.
• The ghosts inside Sha Wujing protested as he contained them, but he insisted they would remain with him and repay their debts while he saved Benefactor White Elephant.
• Sha Wujing charged out of the Black Sea bearing the Black Mountain and the White Jade Divine Elephant on his chest.
• Young Master Mao praised Sha Wujing’s resolve and wondered aloud whether this was the only way to save White Elephant.
• Little White Dragon reunited with Sha Wujing, dismissed his own injuries as minor, and handed him the Demon-Subduing Treasure Staff.
• Little White Dragon told Sha Wujing that their master and companions were waiting, and the two set off to return.

Sha Wujing returned safely from the Divine Elephant Suppressing Hell Diagram, where he had carried the tormented souls and helped free the White Jade Divine Elephant. Mao Zhong conceded the third round, and Xuanzang declared Wujing the winner.

• Bajie and Wukong checked Sha Wujing for injuries, while Little White Dragon stopped them from roughing him up.
• Mao Zhong explained that the White Jade Divine Elephant had become the diagram's formation core and thanked Sha Wujing for helping him find liberation.
• Mao Zhong admitted defeat, and Sha Wujing thanked him for what he had learned.
• Xuanzang praised Sha Wujing's compassion and affirmed that he was walking his own path.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva called Sha Wujing a fellow traveler, and Xuanzang announced that Wujing had won the third round.

After the Pilgrim’s party won the contest, the Heavenly Venerable challenged their conduct in the Life-Saving Match and punished Sun Wukong and Zhu Wuneng for breaking the rules. The punishment unexpectedly cleared Zhu Wuneng’s mind, while Wukong remained in pain from the ruler’s strike.

• Taibai Jinxing declared Sha Wujing the winner of the third round and announced the Pilgrim’s party had won the contest.
• The Heavenly Venerable questioned whether Sun Wukong and Zhu Wuneng had improperly interfered in Ao WujI’s trial, and Wukong accused him of trying to avoid honoring the result.
• The Heavenly Venerable acknowledged the contest’s outcome but argued that the disciples had broken the rules and should not feel wronged.
• When the Heavenly Venerable invited Wukong to explain his position in Miro Palace, Wukong backed down and agreed that rules should be followed.
• The Bitter Bamboo Ruler struck Wukong on the forehead and Zhu Wuneng on the backside as punishment.
• Zhu Wuneng noticed that his thoughts had cleared after the strike, and Wukong mocked him for it.

The Bitter Bamboo Ruler struck Little White Dragon, Sha Wujing, and Wukong, cleansing or changing the first two while leaving Wukong with a painful bump. The Ruler then touched Xuanzang’s Blood-Red Mole, causing him to spit black-gold blood as Wukong rushed to his side.

• The Bitter Bamboo Ruler struck Little White Dragon’s shoulder, expelled the black energy within him, and restored the flow of his dragon water-spirit power.
• Bajie laughed at Little White Dragon’s pain, then the Ruler tapped Sha Wujing’s chest and joined the black and white energies into a gray circular mark.
• Wukong complained that the others had gained benefits from being struck while he had only been hurt, and the Taoist replied that he had done it because he felt like it.
• The Ruler flew to Xuanzang and touched the Blood-Red Mole between his brows, making a scarlet slit pupil appear briefly and causing him to spit black-gold blood.
• Wukong leaped toward Xuanzang and shouted for his master.

Xuanzang received the Bitter Bamboo Ruler after it absorbed some of the Earth Vein Baleful Qi burdening him, and he thanked Yuanshi Tianzun. With the contest and its karma settled, the immortals and Bodhisattva departed, leaving Xuanzang and his disciples to continue their journey.

• The Bitter Bamboo Ruler absorbed Xuanzang’s black-and-gold blood and some Earth Vein Baleful Qi, then settled into his hand and formed a subtle connection with him.
• Xuanzang thanked Yuanshi Tianzun, who explained that the treasure had come into being because of Xuanzang; Wukong complained that nobody had told him sooner.
• Yuanshi Tianzun left to face a distant challenger, and the White Jade Arena dissolved as everyone returned to the official road.
• The Three Mao Lords exchanged farewells with Xuanzang and his disciples, then returned to their mountain.
• Taibai Jinxing teased Wukong about the lump on his forehead before flying back to the Heavenly Court.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva praised Wukong and the others for passing the trial, warned that future tribulations would be harsher, and departed.

After winning the contest of magic, Xuanzang and his companions prepared to enter Chechi Kingdom with the five hundred monks and the defeated power immortals. The frightened king learned they were approaching and led the court outside the city to welcome Xuanzang.

• Wukong complained that the Celestial Venerable had struck him, then accepted Bajie's offer of fruit and a month of service in exchange for his forgiveness.
• Sha Wujing gave Little White Dragon spare clothes, and Xuanzang concealed the Bitter Bamboo Ruler before asking the five hundred monks to accompany him into the city.
• Xuanzang asked the three power immortals to disguise themselves as ordinary monks, and they joined the group.
• The king learned that the three National Preceptors were missing and that Xuanzang's party was approaching Chechi Kingdom.
• The king stopped weeping, ordered the officials to welcome Xuanzang, and led them outside the city gates as Xuanzang and his companions approached.